


the last piece of the puzzle

by fonulyn



Series: pieces of us [1]
Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: And Chris joining in, Cuddles, Fluff, Getting Together, Huddling For Warmth, M/M, Multi, Piers Nivans Lives, Piers is alive and happy and healthy, established Piers/Leon, resulting in the ot3, soft, talking about feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25751842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fonulyn/pseuds/fonulyn
Summary: It took Leon approximately four minutes to fall asleep, and that was a testament to how exhausted he’d been. And how safe he felt between the two others right now. Piers pressed his face into Leon’s hair for a second, as if he was trying to make sure Leon was still there and still okay, but then he looked over Leon and straight at Chris. “You don’t need to pretend you don’t care about him.”Chris didn’t like how knowing the statement was. No one was supposed to know. He had tried so hard to contain his heart eyes, had tried to accept the fact that he’d fucked up his chances. He’d had over a decade to act but he hadn’t, so served him right. “Of course I care,” he muttered defiantly, “he’s myfriend.”“That’s not what I meant.” Piers gave him a look, one that was surprisingly gentle and that was throwing Chris off a loop. Especially when Piers went on, in the same soft tone. “You have feelings for him, right?”-Or the one wherein two becomes three.
Relationships: Leon S. Kennedy/Chris Redfield, Leon S. Kennedy/Piers Nivans, Leon S. Kennedy/Piers Nivans/Chris Redfield, Piers Nivans/Chris Redfield
Series: pieces of us [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1818760
Comments: 16
Kudos: 83





	the last piece of the puzzle

**Author's Note:**

> for [a tumblr prompt](https://fonulyn.tumblr.com/post/625727857876926464/if-youre-ever-in-the-mood-to-write-more). I changed it a little, but this still has huddling for warmth and talking about feelings, so? :’D

“Shit,” Piers spat, resisting the urge to rip out the earpiece and throw it against the nearest tree, “the connection got cut off.” Warily he glanced around them, as if this now meant that something would attack them the second it was just the two of them. He was visibly worried, had been on edge ever since they’d been told that Leon had gone missing and that the DSO had asked for the BSAA units in the area to try to retrieve him. 

Chris was worried, too. Sure Leon had survived tighter spots than most, this wasn’t even the first time he hadn’t been in contact for an extended period of time but still somehow pulled through. But even though Leon was able to work miracles, it didn’t mean he was invincible. “Isn’t this where they lost contact with Leon, too?” he asked, squinting at the coordinates. 

“Almost exactly.” Piers was still looking around them, trying to spot something suspicious. They were slowly making their way further towards the spot where Leon had last contacted Hunnigan, and they knew they were only steps away. “Now where the hell is he?” 

Unable to take the palpable tension anymore, Chris stepped closer and clapped a hand on Piers’ shoulder. “We’ll find him, don’t worry,” he said as calmly and firmly as he could. As much as he worried for his longtime friend, too, he tried to remind himself that Piers and Leon had only been dating for a few months, probably still in the honeymoon phase of the relationship. He didn’t even remember when Piers had last been this antsy because of anything. 

A part of Chris just wanted to gather Piers in his arms to calm him down, and determinedly Chris stomped down on those feelings. Great. How the fuck had he managed this? Two of his friends started to date, and he developed a crush not only on one of them but _both_. 

The look Piers gave him was grateful, though, even a hint of a smile lingering on his face. Whatever he had been about to say was cut off by the loud rumble of the thunder, electricity crackling in the air before a lightning bolt struck so close it made them both jump. A glance overhead confirmed that dark clouds were gathering above them, and it would only be a matter of minutes before they’d be caught in the storm. 

“Fuck,” Piers swore, spinning around to face Chris. Before he said anything his eyes widened, and he grabbed Chris’ shoulder to pull him along. “There’s some kind of a building behind the trees!”

They made a run for it, but even then they didn’t manage to escape the first few fat raindrops that hit them, only diving under the archway around the wooden door in the nick of time to avoid the actual torrential downpour. “Why didn’t anyone tell us there was a _castle_ here?” Chris muttered. And a castle it was, albeit a small one. 

In hindsight, that made sense. They wouldn’t have sent Leon in to search a forest. 

Another lightning bolt struck down, making them both jump, and they only had to glance at one another to decide it was time to get indoors for more shelter. The door looked like it wouldn’t budge an inch, but it swung open surprisingly easily, allowing them entrance. Chris stepped in first, Piers at his heels as they swept the room, before lowering their guns. 

“Not a move,” came a sudden voice from behind the door. How they’d missed the person standing there, neither of them knew, but it made them both curse the rookie mistake. Piers felt the cold muzzle of a gun pressing against the back of his neck, and involuntarily he shivered at the sensation. Ahead of him Chris was frozen in his tracks, not even risking turning around just yet.

Only then Piers’ brain whirred back online, the odd sensation of familiarity clicking. “Leon?” he asked, although he already knew the answer. “Leon, it’s me.”

The reaction was instantaneous. “Piers?” Leon asked, already holstering his gun. Piers barely managed to turn around to face him before he had an armful of Leon thrown at him, strong arms around him hugging him tight. Without hesitation he returned the embrace equally as fiercely, his heart beating rapidly in his chest out of sheer elation that they’d actually found Leon, _alive_. He could feel Leon’s hot breath on his skin as Leon inhaled him once, twice, as if he was trying to make sure with all of his senses that it really was him. 

Eventually Leon pulled back, still a little wide eyed as he looked at Piers. “What are you doing here?” He extended the question to Chris, too, giving his friend a warm smile. Chris had turned around too, but hadn’t approached them, still standing a few paces away almost in the center of the room. 

“We got sent in for a rescue,” Chris provided immediately, visibly relieved now that they had found Leon. It was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he stepped closer, only halting once he was an arm’s length from them. “You gave someone pretty high up enough of a scare that they requested official help from the BSAA.”

“And lucky for you,” Piers winked, unable to stop grinning now, “the best of the best happened to be close by.”

Leon snorted out a laugh, giving Piers’ shoulder a shove. 

“What happened to you?” Chris asked. “They said they lost contact—” he checked his watch “—almost twelve hours ago by now. You should’ve had plenty of time to clear out of here.”

“I was going to,” Leon answered, grimacing a little. “But there’s this…” As he spoke he shifted, and only now the other two realized how he hadn’t moved more than a step or two, and how he’d lingered to stay close to the wall or to Piers for constant support. He nodded downwards, to the four deep parallel cuts that had slashed through his pants and into his flesh, leaving his calf mangled and bloody. “Walking is a bitch.”

“Shit,” Piers huffed, already going for the first aid kit and sinking on his knees to examine the wounds properly. Leon had obviously done what he could with his equipment, but despite not being life threatening those cuts did look nasty and were probably excruciatingly painful. 

The storm was raging on outside and they knew it wouldn’t make any sense to go out there before it had settled, especially as Leon said he had managed to sweep the castle clean of any and all creatures before the last one had caught him in the leg. So they set out to get as comfortable as possible. 

There were wall tapestries made of thick cloth, and the long curtains that were hanging from the windows were mostly intact. As Piers tried his best to fix up what he could of Leon’s leg, Chris set out to organize makeshift bedding in one of the corners. There was a fireplace but nothing to really burn in it, as sadly the castle was mostly bare bones and there wasn’t even any furniture left they could’ve used. 

But Leon was obviously exhausted, shivering from how cold he was, and the blood loss definitely didn’t help. As soon as there was a comfortable pile of cloth in the corner of the room, Piers settled as comfortably as he could, pulling Leon to rest against his side. Easily Leon set his head on Piers’ shoulder, closing his eyes, and barely even moved as more of the thick curtains were pulled over him like a blanket. 

Yet Leon was still shivering. And Chris lingered. When Leon’s teeth began to clatter, Chris wanted nothing more than to go closer and help him warm up again, but it wasn’t his place, he kept telling himself. 

Until Piers broke the silence. “C’mon, Captain. You’ll freeze to death, get in here.” He nodded towards the space left on the other side of Leon, and it almost looked like they had purposefully left enough room there for Chris. 

Nevertheless, Chris hesitated. “It’s okay. I always run hot, I’m fine.” Technically it was true, but it was clearly not why he refused now. He didn’t want to be the third wheel, didn’t want to impose, to force himself where he wasn’t welcome. So he tried to keep a respectable distance.

Then Leon spoke up, teeth still clattering. “Chris?” His voice wavered a little from how cold he still was, but when Chris met his eyes the following words were nothing if not clear. “ _I will_ freeze to death.”

It was as if he knew which string to pull, as that made Chris’ resolve crumble in seconds. He moved in, easily slipping under the curtains used as covers, and pressed himself close until Leon was comfortably trapped between him and Piers. It was almost too warm at first for Chris, but he knew as the storm dragged on and the night progressed it would get colder and soon he’d probably be grateful for the shared bodyheat. 

It took Leon approximately four minutes to fall asleep, and that was a testament to how exhausted he’d been. And how safe he felt between the two others right now. Piers pressed his face into Leon’s hair for a second, as if he was trying to make sure Leon was still there and still okay, but then he looked over Leon and straight at Chris. “You don’t need to pretend you don’t care about him.”

Chris didn’t like how knowing the statement was. No one was supposed to know. He had tried so hard to contain his heart eyes, had tried to accept the fact that he’d fucked up his chances. He’d had over a decade to act but he hadn’t, so served him right. “Of course I care,” he muttered defiantly, “he’s my _friend_.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Piers gave him a look, one that was surprisingly gentle and that was throwing Chris off a loop. Especially when Piers went on, in the same soft tone. “You have feelings for him, right?”

After a stunned moment of silence, Chris could feel his resolve breaking. He was so tired. “Yeah,” he admitted, nodding his head. 

“He’s got feelings for you, too.”

Chris’ head whipped around and he stared at Piers from huge eyes. “What?” He must’ve heard that wrong. There was no way in _hell_ that Piers was sitting here, telling him that Leon had feelings for him, not when those two were so clearly in love, were growing only closer together with every moment they spent together. How did Chris fit into that scenario?

And Piers ignored his surprise. Instead he gave Chris a calculating look, as if he was trying to decide for the course of action he’d take, and finally he spoke in slow and measured words. “I will ask you one question, Chris.” There was a hint of a grin on his face, but his eyes were nothing but sincere. “Do you find _me_ attractive?”

“Why?” Chris answered, confusion mounting. His heart was hammering in his chest from sheer nervousness, from the feeling of getting caught. Surely if his heart eyes for Leon had been too obvious he hadn’t been so ridiculously transparent when looking at Piers, now had he? Piers only leveled him with a look, one that told him to answer the damn question, so with a sigh Chris did. “How could I not.” It wasn’t even a question. Of course he did.

The smile that blossomed on Piers’ face was honestly something that warmed Chris from the inside out. “Then how would you feel about dating us both?” Piers asked, something almost… hopeful? In his voice.

“I thought you only had one question for me,” Chris tried to tease, stalling, playing for time. He must’ve fallen asleep. This was all so bizarre. There was no way this was actually happening. “I don’t. I mean, I do, I— But Leon—”

Piers seemed to have mercy on him as he cut off the inane babbling. “Leon and I talked about this. At length. And we’re both on board.”

For the longest moment Chris looked straight at him, feeling like he was coming apart at the seams. He barely recognized his own voice as he spoke, brittle and hesitant. “I’ve never done anything like that before.”

“Neither have we,” Piers answered with a shrug, his smile warm, “we’d just have to make it up as we go along.” He reached over Leon and grabbed Chris’ shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Think about it. The offer is there.”

All Chris could do was nod. Even when Piers squirmed to get more comfortable and promptly fell asleep, too, all Chris did was try to make sense of all of the thoughts and emotions that were swirling inside of him. He kept telling himself he was keeping watch, he was making sure nothing could jump them while they waited out the storm, but in reality he was too rattled to even consider closing his eyes.

It felt like a small eternity later when Leon stirred between them, blinking sleepily up at Chris. And it was his sleepy smile that made Chris’ emotions simply overflow. “You feeling okay?” he asked, unmasked tenderness in his voice. “Warmer at least?”

“Just perfect,” Leon joked, grimacing as he moved so that it jostled his injured leg. He settled back down comfortably, casting a fond look Piers’ way. 

Somehow that look made the earlier conversation come back to Chris, and he stuttered a little as he tried to figure out how to best approach the topic. “Piers asked me to— He suggested— He said you two—”

This time it was Leon who had mercy on him and stopped him mid-sentence. With a huff of laughter Leon arched an eyebrow. “He made a move on you?” He seemed amused, even tilted his head back enough so he could brush his nose against Piers’ cheek. Piers only made a vague, sleepy sound, not even stirring. 

Chris gave a small shrug. “I think?”

“You _think_?” Leon laughed again. “He’s a pretty direct guy, I didn’t think there was a chance you’d be left confused.”

 _Leon and I talked about it_ , Piers had said, _we’re both on board_. And it wasn’t that Chris doubted him, really, but he needed to hear Leon say it too. He needed the confirmation to put his swirling mind at ease. His voice was more vulnerable than he would’ve liked, small and raw, as he practically breathed out the question. “You really want it?”

There wasn’t a single moment of hesitation. “I do,” Leon answered. “ _We_ do.”

And just like that, the tension coiled within Chris’ chest began to unravel. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, and with it rushed out the worst of the disbelief. “I’m still not convinced this isn’t a dream,” he answered with a low chuckle.

Leon watched him for a while, a small smile lingering. Then he shifted closer until he could place his chin on Chris’ shoulder, still looking up at him. “I’m going to kiss you.” He said it like a question, even if it was a statement, and didn’t move before Chris angled his head to meet him halfway.

It was something Chris had never even allowed himself to wish for. Yet Leon’s mouth was warm on his, lips curved in a smile even as they kissed. It wasn’t much beyond a chaste peck, and yet it was more meaningful than any kiss Chris had ever had.

There was a sleepy sound next to them, and when Chris looked up it was to find Piers grinning at them, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Does this mean it’s a yes?”

Chris shook his head, unable to hold back a mirroring grin. “Yes.” 

It felt like the start of something. Something new, something exciting, something that there was no roadmap for as it was equally uncharted lands for all three of them. They’d make it up as they went along. It was at least worth a try.


End file.
